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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Breakdown: ‘M’ 
has a slight edge

For just the fifth time in 

program history, the Michigan 
football team will be playing a 
night game in Ann Arbor. The 
Wolverines didn’t have to wait 
very long since the last one.

A 
month 
ago, 
Michigan 

lost a sloppy tilt with now-
No. 24 Michigan State amid a 
torrential downpour, and had 
to watch the Spartans walk off 
its field with the Paul Bunyan 
Trophy. Saturday night, there 
will be another trophy on the 
line.

Michigan (3-2 Big Ten, 6-2 

overall) 
will 
be 
facing 
off 

against Minnesota (1-4, 4-4) 
for the Little Brown Jug, which 
the Wolverines claimed after 
beating the Golden Gophers two 
years ago thanks to a goal-line 
stand with seconds remaining 
on the clock in Minneapolis.

Here’s 
how 
Michigan 

matches up with Minnesota on 
Saturday night.

Michigan pass offense vs 

Minnesota pass defense

Whether coach Jim Harbaugh 

and his staff choose to admit it 
publicly or not, Brandon Peters 
will be the leader under center 
for the foreseeable future. The 
redshirt freshman quarterback 
took full advantage of his first 
taste of meaningful game action 
last week, putting a 10-for-
14, 124-yard, one-touchdown 
performance on his resume.

While he didn’t light up 

Rutgers, Peters settled into the 
groove of the offense and did 
what the Wolverines needed 
him to do to turn the game 
around. 
From 
his 
quiet 

confidence to his poise in the 
pocket, Peters impressed his 
teammates 
and 
coaches 

See BREAKDOWN, Page 8

All in all, Brown isn’t speaking 

in hyperbole.

The Wolverines have a test 

waiting for them Saturday. Only 
time will tell if the defensive unit 
is capable of passing that test.

3. Can Ambry Thomas take a 

kick to the house?

Michigan’s 
freshman 

defensive 
back 
debuted 
as 

the Wolverines’ kick returner 
against Purdue. He admitted 
that 
the 
responsibility 
was 

intimidating at first, but has 
since embraced the role.

Entering the matchup with 

Minnesota, 
Thomas 
is 
now 

averaging just over 25 yards per 
return. Equipped with speed 
that Thomas himself says can 
stack up with the best in the 
nation, he has flashed an ability 
to make big plays on special 
teams.

Last Saturday is the perfect 

example. 
After 
bobbling 
a 

kickoff against Rutgers, Thomas 
took off — weaving his way 
downfield before being tripped 
up from behind near the 37-yard 

line with open space in front of 
him.

He subsequently drew a delay 

of game for spiking the ball — 
something he jokingly justified 
by saying that he was one man 
away from breaking loose to the 
end zone for the third straight 
week.

At the end of the day, Thomas 

hasn’t had a highlight reel return, 
at least not yet. Special teams 
coordinator Chris Partridge said 
last week that the Wolverines 
are close. Thomas echoed that 
sentiment this week. But the 
missed opportunities still linger 
in his mind.

“Everyday, literally, I picture 

it,” he said Tuesday. “It’s gonna 
happen real soon, hopefully a big 
game.”

And 
with 
the 
Wolverines 

playing their second game under 
the lights, Thomas may get 
the big-game return he’s been 
imagining.

4. 
Will 
Minnesota 

implement the direct snap?

If 
there 
has 
been 
one 

consistent issue plaguing this 
Michigan defense, it’s direct-
snap plays.

Then-No. 2 Penn State went 

to it early and often in State 
College. On the second play of 
the game, Saquon Barkley took 
a direct snap 69 yards to the end 
zone.

A week later, Rutgers wide 

receiver Janarion Grant went 
to the formation again, making 
Michigan pay with a 65-yard 
touchdown run of his own.

With a trio of backs all with 

a pension for the big play, 
Minnesota could try to expose 
the Wolverines again. And if 
the Golden Gophers’ backfield 
doesn’t do it, quarterback Demry 
Croft might.

Minnesota hasn’t shied away 

from letting Croft run the ball, 
as 
the 
redshirt 
sophomore 

boasts 36 carries for 196 yards 
— highlighted by a 64-yard 
touchdown run against Oregon 
State.

Brown 
will 
surely 
be 

preparing Michigan’s defense for 
the formation, as he said Grant’s 
touchdown was the one play that 
“irks the hell” out him.

But until the Wolverines prove 

capable of stopping it, every 
team they face will be tempted 
to replicate the success on the 
direct snap.

WATCH FOR
From Page 6

BETELHEM ASHAME

Managing Sports Editor

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters will have to prove himself again in Saturday’s game against Minnesota in order to determine whether or not he will become the starter for the forseeable future.